Olive oil trade event set for Hong Kong

Verona, Italy – Veronafiere, a trade association in Italy, and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council have signed an agreement and launched an initiative specifically dedicated to olive oil called the World of Olive Oil.

The first edition of the show is scheduled to coincide with the Hong Kong International Wine & Spirits Fair Nov. 8 to 10. An area of the Veronafiere event will be set aside for extra-virgin olive oil and named The Sol Intl EVO Oil Show. It will be set up and managed by Sol&Agrifood, organizer of the Sol d’Oro International Competition.
 
The Sol Intl EVO Oil Show is organized as a group show as is reserved for producers, consortia and associations of extra-virgin olive oil keen to sell, promote and position their products in China. VeronaFiere offers them turnkey systems, services and technical support, as well as a convention agreement for shipping olive oils.
 
In addition to business-to-business meetings and walk-around tastings, the two-day event in Hong Kong will also include the presentation and a tasting of the award-winning oils of Sol d’Oro Northern and Southern Hemisphere contests, guided by Marino Giorgetti, head of the panel of the Sol d’Oro jury.

The initiative is in response to growing demand for olive oil in China, Veronafiere said in a news release. Imports continue to increase in China, the association said, adding that the 2017/2018 olive oil campaign, which ended on Sept. 30, posted 45,000 tonnes, compared to 44,000 in 2016/2017. A small yet significant increase in a trend that sees consumption in China move closer to that of Japan, which itself imported 55,000 tonnes, up by 1,000 tonnes over the previous year. Consumption of the island of Taiwan, settled at 6.5 tonnes, is also significant.
 
According to the association, the first statistics for China date back to 2008/2009, when the country imported 12,000 tonnes, while Japan posted 30,000 and Taiwan 4 tonnes.
 
The trend for Italian olive oil in China is also very positive and, according to ISTAT data for 2017, recorded turnover worth more than 40 million euros, with a 41 per cent increase compared to the previous year.